Chapel University
Chapel University (commonly referred to simply as Chapel) is a college based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which both Johnny Duke and June Hammer attended and from where June subsequently graduated and procured employment. Currently, more than 37,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are enrolled in over 400 academic degree programs offered at seven campuses and sites in Pennsylvania, and international campuses in Rome, London, Paris, Shanghai and Osaka. Chapel is among the nation's largest providers of professional education (law, medicine, podiatry, pharmacy, dentistry, and architecture), preparing the largest body of professional practitioners in Pennsylvania. However, behind the scenes it is also a center of paranormal and arcane studies. A little known fact is that the school is under the control of the Men of Learning, a secret society dedicated to the collection and preservation of all knowledge. The Illuminati were actually a cabal within the Men of Learning who wanted to use the organizations knowledge to conquer and guide the world but were kicked out. Upon entering the school, Johnny and June noticed the high numbers of superhuman individuals at the school and initially mistook it as being controlled by the Illuminati, but they were set straight by the MoL. Like the Illuminati, there are numerous personalities who are members of the Fighter’s World, Magical Societies, Monster Hunters, Mad Scientists, etc. 'Staff' 'President' Augustus Campbell A high ranking member of the Men of Learning, Augustus Campbell is also a powerful and well respected Fighter. Hailing from Scotland, he discovered that his family was actually a group of fighters who were able to channel Aura and he spent his youth wandering the world and training. While in Tibet he encountered the Men of Learning and helped them battle a monster, afterwards being inducted into the Order. Augustus rose through the ranks, eventually becoming an Elder and being made the head of Chapel University to oversee the Order's operations there. He knew and admired Ray Duke, and as such he kept tabs on Johnny Duke and talked him into getting a degree after he dropped out. Physically Augustus is extremely large being nearly 7' tall with a heavily muscled frame which is covered in scars from his years fighting. His head is bald with a cross shaped scar on his forehead and he has a long white beard which goes halfway down his chest. He typically wears glasses which he removes before fights. His most common attire is a black suit with a cherry and white tie, a brown overcoat, and a cane. 'Faculty' Albert East A cranky gaunt man with stringy brown hair and black bags under his eyes. He is a professor of biology who is even able to bring things back to life. June Hammer Regarded as the most brilliant person to come through the science program in the University's history, June wrote a number of papers while a student that changed the face of modern physics and was responsible for the invention of a number of impossibly high tech devices. She was already famous (some would say infamous) in the field of science while still a student, and when she graduated she was instantly offered a job on staff at the school where she was granted a nearly unlimited budget and freedom for her studies. Despite being a professor, she has no real interest in teaching and tends to give her classes confusing names which no student would ever pick. 'Notable Alumni' Dirk Strang The current director of AEGIS was once a student at Chapel. Ernie Hammer The legendary AEGIS Agent and SENTINEL Captain got his start at Chapel. After completing college he joined the Navy which set him on his later path. Ezra Hammer Ernie's younger brother, Ezra also attended college at Chapel and joined the Navy when he was done. Despite his shining intellect, Ezra was a lazy student who graduated with unremarkable grades. Carrie Rivers Carrie was a student at this school. She did a semester in Rome, which was where she met her eventual husband Ray Duke. Maybelle Lockwood Maybelle attended the college and worked there after graduation. It was here that she met and fell in love with Ezra. Helen Hammer Helen would be remembered as the most brilliant student to ever go through the school. During her time there she was approached by AEGIS and inducted into the Men of Learning. June Hammer June entered the college to follow in her parents' and older sister's footsteps. She was the shining star of the science department, making numerous discoveries, authoring game changing papers and inventing arcane devices during her time there. Afterwards she was offered a job at the University who were after the prestige attached to her name. Johnny Duke Johnny followed June to the college, getting in on the recommendation of his mother. He was a good student if a bit aimless, and he eventually dropped out following the deaths of his parents. The President, who was a friend of his father's, kept tabs on him and talked him into completing his education and getting a degree to honor his mother's memory. Johnny would later take online courses to get admittedly worthless degrees in History and Liberal Arts. 'Trivia' - As the keepers of the greatest repositories of secret knowledge on the Earth (and most surrounding systems), the Men of Learning are regularly approached by the likes of AEGIS and various monster hunting orders like the Brotherhood of the Sword for help in various matters. As they are known to have a controlling interest in Chapel University, it is not uncommon for significant individuals in the worlds of politics and industry to seek their council there under the pretext of being a keynote speaker or something along those lines. - While June enjoys teasing Johnny about being a college drop out, he actually completed online courses from Chapel to get a degree in Bachelors in Liberal Arts. He admits the degree is worthless, but that he was pressured to by the President who had been a friend of his father's. - A secret passage in the Chapel's Library grants access to the Hall of Shadows, the Men of Learning's repository for all of its knowledge. The Hall of Shadows has no physical location, and is instead a magically created pocket dimension that can only be accessed from particular places and under particular conditions.